The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-11-10
The Week Of Seven Days:

mentators, and as is apparent to careful
readers, it void seem that some notion
of the week of seven days was current
among the people whose history is re.
corded in very early times, that is to say,
at date preceding Moses or any of the
books written by him. The proof of this
is to be found in such passages as the
following Genesis, xxx, 81, where Jacob
is desired by Laban to fulfill her week."
that is Leah's week, in order that he
might also receive Rachel. The week
appears to express the time given up to
nuptial festivities So afterwards in
Judges, xiv, where Samson speaks of
"the seven days Of the feast" So also
on the occasion of the death Of Jacob,
Joseph "made a mourning for his father
seven days." Genesis, 1:19.) But
"neither of these instances, any more
than Noah's procedure in the ark, go
further than showing the custom of OBJ
serving term of seven days for any OBJ.
aervauce of importance" They do not
prove that the whole year or the whole
month was thus divided at all times aud
without regard to remarkable events.
They do not indeed prove this, but they
suggest the division as common and fam
iliar and in some early period recognized
as an institution. When, therefore, the
children of Israel went down to Egypt
for what proved to be very long scjjeurft
in that country tbs.'possibly we're famiI-
lar with the practice of dividing time by
weeks, and .at all events the notion of
seven days as convenient portion of
time for the affairs ofliie would not seem
altogether strange to them. 1t is exceed.
ingly probable that on arriving in Egypt
they found the week established by the
practice of the country. II will be OBJ.
served that it was in Egypt that Joseph
mourned seven days for Jacob, and it is
possible, though there seems to be no
necessity to assume the fact, that in so
doing he was conforming to the custom
of the country, as he did with regard to
the embalming and chesting of his faith
er's remains. But independently of any
such consideration, it would seem highly
probable that the Israclites found them
selves in Egypt among a people who
divided the time by weeks of seven days.
We know that they did SO at a later
period why might they not have COM
menced as early as before the sojourn of
the Israelites? The Egyptians were, in
fact, people very likely 10 be advanced
in such matter as this: order and gov
ernment, both ecclesiastical and civil,
we're undoubtedly in remarkable state
of perfection at the time to which refer.
ence is now made, and it would seem
much more probable than otherwise that
so convenient an institute as the subdi-
vision of the month into short periods
had already been established. I!-may be
noted with reference to the number seven
and its recognition in some form or
another as special number among the
Egyptians, that we have incidental evil
dence in the dream of Pharoah; the
special form of the dream, as present.
ing seven fat and seven lean kline, may
supposed TO have been connected with
some familiaity in Pharaoh's mind with
the number seven during his waking
hours. And as regards the Israelites, it
may be observed that the period Of seven
days is introduced into the most solemn
event of their Egyptian sojurp, namely,
the ordinance of the Passover. "Seven
days shall ye eat unleavened bread
even the first day ye shall put away
leaven out of your houses; for whosover
eateth leaven bread from the first until
the seventh day, that soul shall be cut
off from Israel."-7He Bishop of Carlisle
,nthe Contemporary Review.